I don't own any individual stocks. - BRK.B will probably give similar returns to the S&P 500. Why not hold the S&P 500 instead? (Why take on the added risk?) - As for Apple, what happens if iPhone loses its popularity? I have no interest in buying individual stocks; I would rather own ~10,00...

I work in small business lending and the typical age when people started their own business is mid/late 40's. At you age the best business to invest in is yourself (i.e. get experience). You need to learn how the world operates and learn from others' mistakes to minimize the ones you will make in t...

Second, wow, sad. If those estimates and predictions are accurate, then I can never retire early. I had what I thought was a solid plan. Historically, I thought it had been around 10.4%. I expected a little lower, so I figured if I could get 9 that would be great. At 2%, I can never have enough to ...

Do you mean something like this, but for a longer period? http://news.morningstar.com/stockReturns/CapWtdSectorReturns.html yes exactly I seem to recall reading somewhere that airlines have been terrible investments. Airlines Airlines would fall into the consumer cyclical sector but they are only o...

Looking back into the past, are there any stock sectors that did poorly over a 30-year period? Let's exclude precious metals and emerging markets for this example. It seems to me that while there are sectors that beat the returns of the S&P 500, we are hard-pressed to find ones that underperform...

I would try not to live with the expectation of receiving any inheritance at all. It will prevent you from achieving your own self-made goals. Personally, I would rather my parents spend everything they have; I want them to live their lives to the fullest. I think it's selfish to expect an inheritan...

@InvestorNewb - When I was first starting out I was unaware of Vanguard/VTI, so I started building with 50 shares of SPY. I agree, moving forward I should just stick to VTI, but is the 50 shares of SPY hurting anything? Not hurting anything at all. VTI is just the better choice because it has 3,796...

I actually have about $350k already and every drop is a pain. It is also painful that the fund price tends to be higher on days on my automatic contributions come in. I just hate to have a repeat of 2008 to my money. I can't imagine people knowingly let their existing balance nose-dives. The key is...

If it turns out that he actually picked stocks, and didn't pile into index funds, I guess this forum will have to self-destruct. I don't see anything wrong with picking stocks as long as you buy enough of them in different sectors. I think many investors from my father's generation built their weal...

A good time to give it to them would be between the ages of 25-30. i.e. after they finish school and are trying to start their own lives. Why not plan your allocation around that time frame? I also think that if someone is financially irresponsible at 30 it will be hard to change their habits beyond...

Hello, I read in another post that over the past 41 years, REIT dividends have grown at a rate of 2.6% per year according to the NAREIT database. Let's suppose for simplicity that someone has 100k in REITs (VNQ) today. Based on the following data, I plugged some numbers into dividend-calculator.com:...

Hey AceJ it's just an opinion, but it's a good idea to add precious metals to your portfolio. In general, a holdings made of around 25% cash (and bonds), 25% gold/silver, 25% stocks, and 25% real estate keeps you nice and diversified so on a monthly basis with $100-$200 put some of that toward U.S....

Newb, Newb, Newb... Newb... some of the threads you start (bored when market is closed).... and, now this... :oops: I'm starting to think he's trolling; way too many threads started like this that are obviously anti-Boglehead. Care to explain how the thread is anti-Boglehead? If anything, it is pro...

Even though we are only 27 days into the year, the international stock index is finally showing some benefit in the portfolio. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is down -0.6 YTD Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) is up +2.3% YTD It may be a silly question, but are any of the die-hard,...

Apart from your bank account, is there really a need to check your investment accounts while you are on vacation? Probably not... When I was in Europe for three weeks, it was the only time I really "tuned off" my investments because I was doing other stuff. It was nice to take a break from...

... REITs are actually more volatile than total stock and historically don't perform as well, though I don't know if these stock charts on Google finance take dividends into consideration. Here are some stats that I pulled from portfoliovisualizer.com: From 1972-2014, - $10,000 in the US Stock Mark...

Not that I am negative on REITS, but I think you should look back at your post and learn from the statement that interest rates are 'on the rise,' not whether REITs have performed ok. Take a look at rates in 2013 vs now and ask yourself if your instincts or prognosticator statements about market di...

Maybe I'm an idiot (with interest rates on the rise) but I just bought 10k of VNQ today. I couldn't resist the price being lower than what I bought it at 7 months ago with my original lump sum (~$69). I had the cash and the contribution room in my tax-deferred account, so I figured why not. REITs n...